SECONDARY SCHOOLS 89
ren at home for three years longer, i.e., up to the
age of 13, which, apart from other advantages,
means a considerable reduction in the expenses of
education. In some cases the Aufbausckule has
a boarding house attached to it.
The Aufbauschule was originally intended to be
the high school of small towns, but in recent years
it has been established in large towns also, and the
advocates of the nine-year secondary schools are
afraid that it may, in course of time, become the
normal type of high school. In view of the fact
that the period for preparation for the * Maturity'
examination is only 6 years in the Aufbauschule,
as compared with 9 years in the other kinds of
high schools, it was expected that care would be
taken to admit into the former only talented child-
ren from the rural areas and small towns; but in
the beginning, owing to their anxiety to secure
adequate strength, the Directors of these schools
were not overstrict in admitting pupils. During
his visit to a Reformrealgymnasium which had
opened Aufbau classes, the writer learned that, of
the pupils who had been enrolled in Untertertia,
only 17 per cent, passed the 'Maturity' examin-
ation after 6 years of regular study.
Girls' Secondary Schools.
The claims of girls for higher education were
not fully recognised in Germany until quite recent-
ly. In 1908 a thorough reform of the girls'
secondary schools was carried out, providing
better facilities for the higher education of girls